Introduction

Fujifilm may be a small player in the grand scheme of things but they are certainly entertaining us big time here in the lab. While they have a few budget offerings, they are obviously primarily committed to deliver interesting lenses for the "prosumer" segment. This time we'll have a look at the Fujinon XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR - thus one of many high-speed designs in their lineup. In full format terms we are talking about a "24mm" here - thus a moderate ultra-wide lens. As such it is versatile in terms of applications - street-, architecture- and landscape photography come immediately into mind. A price tag of around 900-1000EUR/US$ is far from being cheap but at least on paper this isn't unreasonable given the speed.

Typical for most Fujinon lenses, the build quality is very good thanks to a tightly assembled metal body based on a metal mount. The very broad focus ring operates very smoothly. The lens has a dedicated aperture ring with distinctive 1/3EV steps. A barrel-shaped lens hood made of plastic is part of the package. The lens features a weather- and dust-resistant structure with nine seals and can also work in temperatures as low as -10°C.

AF operations are pretty fast and essentially noiseless. The lenses has a focus-clutch mechanism to switch between AF and MF - thus you push/pull the focus ring. Manual focusing works "by wire" thus by triggering the AF motor - the (manual focus) accuracy is fine from a real world perspective.